for21st Century - National Democratic Institute

REF L ECT, R EFO RM , REEN G AGE:

A BLUEPRINT

for 21 Century st

PARTIES

By The National Democratic Institute FIRST EDITION

Copyright © 2017 The National Democratic Institute (NDI)

All rights reserved

RE FLECT, REFORM, REENG AGE:

A BLUEPRINT

for 21st Century PARTIES

Reflect, Reform, Reengage: A Blueprint for 21st Century Parties By The National Democratic Institute First Edition Copyright © 2017 The National Democratic Institute (NDI) All rights reserved Portions of this work may be reproduced and/or translated for noncommercial purposes provided NDI is acknowledged as the source of the material and are sent copies of any translation.

RE F L ECT, R E FOR M , R E E N G AGE :

A BLUEPRINT


The National Democratic Institute (NDI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nongovernmental organization that responds to the aspirations of people around the world to live in democratic societies that recognize and promote basic human rights. Since its founding in 1983, NDI and its local partners have worked to support and strengthen democratic institutions and practices by strengthening political parties, civic organizations and parliaments, safeguarding elections, and promoting citizen participation, openness and accountability in government. With staff members and volunteer political practitioners from more than 100 nations, NDI brings together individuals and groups to share ideas, knowledge, experiences and expertise. Partners receive broad exposure to best practices in international democratic development that can be adapted to the needs of their own countries. NDI’s multinational approach reinforces the message that while there is no single democratic model, certain core principles are shared by all democracies. The Institute’s work upholds the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It also promotes the development of institutionalized channels of communications among citizens, political institutions and elected officials, and strengthens their ability to improve the quality of life for all citizens. For more information about NDI, please visit www.ndi.org.

This publication was made possible through the support provided by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NED.

3


A BLUEPRINT


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The information and points of view from the publication were pulled from both the 21st Century Parties Conference, held in Brussels in January, 2017, and the 21st Century Parties Blog. Participants at the conference included: members of political parties from Europe and beyond; members of the political party assistance community; and political party activists. Contributors to the blog included: Gerhard Anger; Thomas Carothers; Josep M. Colomer; Russell Dalton; Governor Howard Dean; Uffe Elbaek; Birgitta Ohlsson; Tilak Pathak; Sandra Pepera; Susan Scarrow; Christophe Sente; and Jan Marinus Wiersma. A big thank you to everyone who participated. Francesca Binda, President of Binda Consulting International, drafted this blueprint and the project was coordinated by Iain Gill, International Political Party Consultant. Additional contributions were made by: Luke Akal, the African Liberal Network Coordinator; Martin Ängeby, Secretary-General at the Swedish International Liberal Centre; Hans van Baalen, VVD MEP, Netherlands, and President for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe; Cecilia Bylesjö, Director of Programmes at the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights; Gary Klaukka, Programme Officer in the Political Parties, Participation and Representation Programme at International IDEA; and Shannon O’Connell, Senior Advisor, Gender and Politics at the Westminster Foundation for Democracy. In addition, the blueprint utilized statements and articles by Pedro Sánchez, the Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, and Sandra Pepera, Director of Gender, Women and Democracy Programs at NDI. At NDI, this initiative was managed by Philippa Wood with additional contributions by Ivan Doherty and Walter Keady.

4


A BLUEPRINT


TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements

4

Key Recommendations

7

How to Use this Guide Introduction

Goals of this Document

Ideology in the 21st Century Defining Traditional Ideologies Political Ideology — A New Analytical Framework Historical Example, Sweden: From Traditional Left/Right Ideologies to GAL/TAN Ideology in the 21st Century- Examples from the African Continent How to Fight populism?

Modern Political Representation The Importance of Gender Equality in a Political Party Political Parties: Gatekeepers of the Status Quo Women’s Participation in Political Parties The Importance of Diversity in Political Parties: A British Perspective Social Media and Political Parties in the 21st Century

Paying for Democracy Partnership, Party Law and Perspectives from a Party Assistance Organization

Conclusion

Worksheets Citizen Relations: Identifying Sectors of the Population Connecting Policies Back to Ideology Critical Questions: Ideology in the 21st Century Critical Questions: Inclusion and Party Finance Critical Questions: Party Membership Flow of Money into Parties Supply versus Demand of Citizen Input Ideology: Where Does your Party Lie? What Does Money Mean to your Party?

6 9 10

12 12 13 14 16 18

21 24 25 27 30 23

35 36

39 42 42 46 50 52 54 56 58 61 63

5


A BLUEPRINT


HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE This guide was developed for political party leaders and National Democratic Institute (NDI) activities with funding by the National Endowment for Democracy. The aim of this guide is to identify areas of disconnect between political parties and citizens, and highlight areas of reform. The document includes the following three sections:

»» »» »»

Key recommendations for political parties; A blueprint for party reform, which includes case studies and personal experiences from party practitioners from around the world; and Worksheets and critical questions to help parties think through practical applications for the suggestions highlighted in the blueprint.

This document can be read from beginning to end, or users can read through the sections of most interest, utilizing the worksheets that are linked in the text of the document. Political party leaders and reform advocates will find practical advice and suggestions in this guide that will help them fight for and implement party reform. Many of the recommendations were developed during the 21st Century Parties conference in Brussels in January, 2017, where party leaders came together to discuss challenges political parties face in the 21st century and possible ways to overcome them.

6


A BLUEPRINT


KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REFORM MINDED PARTIES Lead by example. Political parties should develop truly democratic internal structures and practices if they wish to gain the trust of an increasingly better informed and knowledgeable population. Think creatively about the term “ideology.” Unless ideology is translated into specific policy choices, it will remain an abstract notion and meaningless to voters. Parties must ensure that their policies are addressing the needs of the people, not simply the needs of party elites. Create formal mechanisms to regularly assess policies, values and priorities. Giving space within the party structures for values-driven activists to help create new, formal policymaking mechanisms, or strengthen existing mechanisms, is critically important in promoting distinctiveness of approach and objectives. Ideas that shape party policies should be rooted in shared values of political party members and supporters. In renovating ideology and policies, political parties should provide ideas that inspire citizens and unite voters with a common sense of beliefs and values. Rather than dismiss new citizen movements and parties, traditional parties should acknowledge citizens’ concerns. Many citizens feel that traditional parties and party leaders are out of touch and secretive. To change this perception, political parties should reconnect with citizens by engaging them in developing workable solutions to 21st century challenges. Embrace and understand 21st century communications technologies. The rise of social media and increased access to the internet has changed the way citizens receive information, relate to each other and engage in political activity. In order to stay relevant, political institutions should develop social media communication strategies that engage citizens in a meaningful way. Explicitly prioritize gender equality within political organizations. Political Parties must ensure that women are provided with the space to exercise their voice and agency - to be equal and active partners in the party’s organization and representation, including through establishing appropriate mechanisms for ensuring zero tolerance for harassment and discrimination. For example, parties can:

»» »» »»

Mandate 50 percent female and male representation on all political party decision-making bodies. Revise internal rules and statutes to remove barriers to women’s political participation. Establish zero tolerance for violence against politically active women.

7


A BLUEPRINT


»» »»

Understand and eliminate informal norms and processes that limit women’s meaningful representation within the party. Support funding and financing initiatives that promote increased participation of women in political institutions.

Develop and implement strategies to reach out to marginalized groups of citizens. A fundamental characteristic of democracy is that all citizens are able to express their voices and influence decisions affecting their lives. This includes segments of the population traditionally excluded from political power due to social prejudice and stereotypes. Diversity within parties must be substantive in terms of individuals of all backgrounds contributing to policy- and decision-making processes, access to elected office, and opportunities to represent the party to broader audiences. Prioritize transparency and accountability. If political parties hope to counter the anti-corruption calls from citizens and movements that promise to clean up politics, their own funding sources should be more transparent. (i.e. parties must be clear and honest about who their donors are, what those donors receive in exchange for their contribution(s), and how donations and public funds are spent.)

8


A BLUEPRINT


INTRODUCTION Political parties in the 21st century face several existential challenges, including:

»» »» »» »» »»

Why do increasingly disenfranchised citizens not see party activism as a mechanism to give voice to their concerns? How do parties with developed ideologies, platforms, programs and a history of being change makers compete against the rise of populist movements, many of which are propelled by single issues? Given citizen disenfranchisement with traditional parties, how can they raise legitimate resources to continue their operations? How can political parties keep up with changing citizen expectations, with regard to communication and outreach? How can political parties reflect a commitment to women’s empowerment through their policy goals, organisational culture and institutional structures?

There are no easy answers to these questions. Nor does this document pretend that there are “one size fits all” prescriptions or techniques. Rather, this is the consolidated reflection and thinking of political activists, practitioners and academics brought together by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) as part of its 21st Century Parties: The Party Renewal Initiative. To date, the initiative has three phases: an online blog for experts to weigh in on the challenges facing parties and their potential solutions; the 21st Century Parties Conference in Brussels, Belgium that brought together political party experts and leaders from around the globe to discuss a way forward; and this guide, which synthesizes the blog articles and the discussions from the 21st Century Conference with additional case studies and practical tips to meet the challenges democratic political parties face in the 21st century. Resolving domestic political conflicts and responding to changing geopolitics requires strong democratic institutions that can mediate partisanship, ensure minority rights, uphold the rule of law, and, in so doing, stem the appeal of populists and extremists. The goal of this ongoing initiative is to help increase democratic resilience by working with political parties to become more responsive to citizens’ needs and to create opportunities for multi-partisan and multi-ethnic consensus. Several recurring successes or “better practices” have emerged that may help reform-minded party leaders think through their own challenges and concepts as a result of this initiative:

»» »»

Successful political actors and leaders reflect and give voice to the concerns of the electorate. A professionalization of political activism has squeezed out amateur activists, who turn to micro issues or join populist or protest movements to find or regain their voice.

9


A BLUEPRINT


»» »» »» »» »»

»» »»

Political activism can be encouraged through increased capacity and meaningful engagement. Innovation of party structures and internal procedures accommodates technological and social change, and can make parties more attractive to potential support. Restoring parties as trusted institutions in the information age requires higher levels of transparency and accountability. Public dialogue and civic education, and in many cases, internal party reform, are needed to restore the preeminent place of parties in democracy. Ideology remains important, however many citizens argue that most traditional parties are too similar and no longer represent the unique ideologies or values for which they once campaigned. To fill this void, new citizen movements and parties often propose alternatives that are not framed in the traditional language of ideology. Diverse representation and participation by women is crucial for political parties. None of the reform items outlined in this document can be fully achieved without this. The promotion and empowerment of women, including young women, by and within political parties is crucial for the long term success of these organizations. None of the reform items outlined in this document can be fully achieved without this.

Goals of this Blueprint This guide features case studies and best practices that were discussed and identified during the 21st Century Parties Conference. The perspectives follow accepted best practices for democratic parties operating in established and emerging democratic societies. The information contained in this document provides parties with practical insights and examples of reform efforts they can undertake to become more contemporary, relatable, inclusive and open organizations. Practical worksheets, which accompany this document, can be used by political parties to help them better understand the topics and provide useful questions for party officials as they consider solutions to the challenges they face. Although several, inter-related themes have emerged during this initiative, this blueprint is divided into the following sections:

»»

Ideology in the 21st Century: Around the globe, two phenomena are evident: 1. support for populist and non-traditional parties on both the left and the right is on the rise; and 2. the increase in crossnational, cross-party consensus among democratic policymakers has led to many similarities between parties, and has caused some difficulty on the part of citizens to identify differences between the different parties and platforms. Additionally, in new and emerging democracies, traditional notions of

10


A BLUEPRINT


ideology have a limited role in the challenges of making democracy deliver. This section examines how political parties can use ideology as a tool to develop policies that reflect the values of their supporters and members. The aim is to help parties think through how they can reshape and reinterpret traditional ideologies, and what those changes mean for their supporters.

»»

»»

Modern Political Representation: Grassroots and citizen-based movements are repudiating the traditional relationship between parties and citizens around the world. These people or groups often call for party members and leaders to be more representative of the society in which they live. This section challenges political parties to understand that, in the 21st century, organizations that fail to include half the world’s population as equal members and leaders cannot call themselves modern, democratic institutions. Political parties must take seriously the meaningful participation of women and understand that restructuring for gender equality is a form of organizational development and involves developing and implementing a growth agenda. When parties deliberately seek to increase women’s participation and influence, they expand outreach, appeal and internal capacity, making them more competitive organizations. This section also examines the need for political parties to diversify their support base and increase the engagement of minority and marginalized groups. Citizens are looking for new ways to participate in and influence politics, demanding meaningful, two-way communication with politicians and the government. These challenges offer an opportunity for parties to redesign their relationship with citizens and supporters, addressing the concerns of mass citizen movements and tailoring their communication methods to address changing citizen needs. Paying for Democracy: Funding political organizing in the 21st century is often a balancing act between navigating demands for transparency, overhauling traditional fundraising methods, and identifying and untangling entrenched interests within parties and political finance systems as a whole. In addition, the way parties are financed can be a major barrier to diverse representation. However, even detailed, wellbalanced financial legislation is inadequate unless it is matched with strong mechanisms for monitoring and enforcement, and requires sanctions that are severe enough to prevent violations.

11


A BLUEPRINT


IDEOLOGY IN THE 21ST CENTURY Academics and practitioners alike have joined the discussion on whether political parties are facing a “crisis of ideology.” Questions include: Is ideology a Western concept with no relevance in new and emerging democracies? Is the 21st century a post-ideological era? Can national party ideologies provide adequate guidance to the complex, often supranational, challenges of modern politics? In this technological age, where competing ideas travel around the globe instantly, are ideologies too inflexible to keep up? The traditional, Western ideologies of Conservatism, Liberalism, and Social Democracy were developed in the 18th and 19th centuries in response to the French and Industrial Revolutions. Given that these ideologies were born and developed in Europe over two hundred years ago, it is understandable that political parties in new and emerging democracies around the world are at best confused about whether these ideologies apply to them or, at worst, reject the notion of “ideology” altogether as a “Western concept.” In addition, new ideological constructs have continued to emerge including Green parties and other ideological alternatives. However, both traditional and more modern ideologies are fundamentally a collection of ideas. An ideology is a unified set of values and beliefs that help interpret and define society. All citizens have values and beliefs that frame their political ideas, Defining Traditional Ideologies even if they do not call them “ideology.” The worksheet “The GAL-TAN Spectrum” helps Modern Conservatism promotes retaining traditional parties orient their values according to modern social institutions of its cultural context. Conservatives have variously sought to preserve institutions including and multidimensional citizen expectations. In regions outside of Europe, particularly Africa and Asia, political parties that were created on the eve of independence, or that were inheritors of colonial power, initially advanced unifying ideas of liberation and nationalism. In many countries, religion or ethnicity shape political ideas and are used by political parties to mobilize support. In the Muslim world, for example, many Islamist parties compete effectively in democratic elections. Regardless of the ideology, these examples show that ideas have the ability to inspire action, and are formed by the circumstances and context of the political environment. As the political environment evolves, however, so must political parties’ ideas evolve.

religion, monarchy, parliamentary government, property rights and the social hierarchy, emphasizing stability and continuity. There is no single set of policies that is universally regarded as conservative, because the meaning of conservatism depends on what is considered traditional in a given place and time.

Modern Liberalism is founded on ideas of liberty and equality. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally support ideas and programs such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, free markets, civil rights, democratic societies, secular governments, gender equality, and international cooperation. Modern Social Democracy supports economic and social interventions to promote social justice. It is characterized by a commitment to policies aimed at curbing inequality, oppression of underprivileged groups and poverty; including support for universally accessible public services like care for the elderly, child care, education, health care, and workers’ compensation.

12


A BLUEPRINT


However, parties must eventually move beyond single issue politics as they can be disproportionately harmful to women and marginalized groups. Often the ‘single issue’ around which leaders rally support is deeply impactful to vulnerable populations, for example rolling back abortion rights, blocking immigration, stoking Islamophobia, or using bigoted and misogynist rhetoric. In Europe, as with other regions in the world where political parties have long histories of ideological coherence, new ideas, movements and alternative ideologies are challenging tradition. Perhaps, as Martin Ängeby, Secretary-General at the Swedish International Liberal Centre suggests, the traditional left/right ideological framework is irrelevant for many political parties, demonstrating that ideologies are living concepts, which must be revisited and updated from time to time.

PRACTICIONER RECOMMENDATION

Political ideology — a new analytical framework By Martin Ängeby, Secretary-General at the Swedish International Liberal Centre

It has been argued in different ways that ideology is dead. Some have argued that liberalism won the battle of ideas, while others said ideology is not relevant to present realities and technological development. Looking at the lack of stringency of populist movements in articulating coherent LEFT RIGHT policy positions has also led people to believe that ideology is no longer relevant. The problem of understanding present day ideological divides is a result of the very dominant left-right divide that has been the major axis in democratic countries for most of the last century. In Sweden, a new way of classifying parties has entered debate. Instead of the traditional left to right scale, the new GAL-TAN spectrum aims to help clarify political positioning and potential for alliance-building between parties.

GAL

LEFT

RIGHT

TAN

GAL stands for Green-Alternative-Libertarian and TAN stands for Traditional-AuthoritarianNationalist. The analytical model was introduced by Hooghe Marks & Wilson in 2002.1 The dividing line within this analytical framework is not about redistributive politics and the welfare state, it is about social and cultural values, where views of immigration and pluralism are significant. 1. Hooghe, Lisbet, Gary Marks & Carole J Wilson (2002). ”Does Left/Right Stucture Party Positions on European Integration.” Comparative Political Studies, 35(8): 965-989.

13


A BLUEPRINT


In essence, the left-right spectrum has lost much of its relevance. In many places, parties on each end are moving closer together, often causing former rivals to form new alliances. Recommendation for parties: ññ Have regular assessments of your party’s policies, values and priorities, and decide if they still align with your party’s traditional ideology. If they do not, how can the party’s ideological identity shift along the GAL-TAN spectrum? ññ Compare these policies and priorities to those of other parties, noting the similarities — and possible openings for consensus — and the clear differences. ññ Consistently reassess the priorities of your party’s base, taking into consideration the GAL-TAN dimension.

Historical Example, Sweden: From Traditional Left/Right Ideologies to GAL/TAN CASE STUDY

By Martin Ängeby, Secretary-General at the Swedish International Liberal Centre

From 1921-1988, Sweden had a stable five party presence in parliament, with socialists, social democrats, two liberal parties and a conservative party. Governments would normally be formed by social democrats with parliamentary support from the socialists (in prosperous times) and with the liberals (in times needing measures of austerity). Occasionally (1973-79, 1991-94, 2006-10), the center right outnumbered the left and were able to form center right majority governments. 2010 saw the entry of social conservative/nationalist Sweden Democrats in parliament. They grew after the election in 2014, and created a government crisis in the fall of 2014 by voting on the center right alliance’s budget, while the social democrats had formed a minority government with the greens. After negotiation with the center right alliance, an agreement was made that the center right would present separate budgets, thereby making sure that the government’s budget would win the parliamentary vote regardless of the votes of the Sweden Democrats. Part of this deal, called the December Agreement, was a commitment by the social democrats and greens to do the same if the center right alliance was bigger than the assembled left after 2018 elections. The December Agreement was highly unpopular. Voters to the center right felt the alliance was soft on economic policies and raising taxes. The nationalists felt they were excluded unfairly from influence. Opinion polls show the Sweden Democrats growing even more after the 2018 elections. It is clear that a new majority in parliament will not be formed to the traditional left or to the right, and the

14


A BLUEPRINT


centrist option also looks unlikely. This will cause the more traditional parties to form non-traditional alliances. For example, the Conservatives and the (small) Christian Democrats, formerly part of the center right alliance, have begun negotiations with the nationalist Sweden Democrats. Similarly, the social democrats hope to become the governmental leader with the support from greens and liberals — two parties far from the social democrats on the GAL-TAN scale. Ideology — like democracy — is a living concept that needs to be renewed, nurtured and periodically evaluated. Traditional notions of political party ideology may be outdated and failing to respond to 21st century political challenges, but that does not mean ideology is less necessary; the opposite is true. Any “crisis of ideology” is that political parties are failing to provide ideas that inspire citizens and unite voters with a common sense of beliefs and values. Citizens often conclude that broad base-seeking parties are too similar and part of an establishment cabal that offers little in the way of real solutions to everyday challenges. Herein lies a tightrope of sorts. Appeal to larger constituencies requires policy flexibility, but as competitive parties promote flexible policies they become increasingly indistinguishable from - Rasmus Nordqvist, Member one another. As Hans Van Baalen VVD of the Danish Parliament, The Alternative Party MEP, Netherlands, and President for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) in Europe, reminds us, “if citizens don’t recognize your party, they won’t vote for you.” If parties are indistinguishable what options remain for those that have serious concerns about some element of the status quo?

“Ideology is an answer, not a question.”

Research conducted by NDI in the Middle East/North Africa Region over five years shows that most citizens only have a vague understanding of what distinguishes one political party from another. In the last few years there has been an explosion of new or reconstituted parties in some of the countries in the region as a result of increased democracy, many of which have failed to present ideas that inspire. The exception to this failure are a number of Islamist parties that present clear values and beliefs that shape their political programs. While identification does not always translate to support, some Islamist parties across the region have “brand” recognition that distinguishes them from their competitors. More ideological distinctiveness and battles of ideas are needed to answer voters’ “what do you stand for” question. Unless ideology is translated into specific policy choices, it will remain an abstract notion, and meaningless to voters. Ideological differences must define policy objectives of political parties. Too often, political parties abandon ideology for political expediency. When parties lose their ideological distinctiveness they are asking voters to choose between two brands: like Pepsi and Coke, they are still both cola.

15


A BLUEPRINT


One way political parties can shape or renovate their ideas is by involving citizens directly in the process. The Danish Alternative Party was created in 2013 with the intention of creating a more engaged and involved democracy. All of the party’s policies are crowdsourced, developed in political laboratories around Denmark, which are open to all citizens. The party’s founder, Uffe Elbæk, has noted: “the political program presented didn’t rest on ideologies or out-of-date dogmas, but values and run-away imagination instead.” However, it is important to keep in mind that the types of outreach used to crowdsource ideas can have gendered barriers. For instance, town hall meetings and other public forums can be daunting to women, particularly in societies where women are discouraged from public action, or with high gender segregation, or even inaccessible because of timing, location, lack of childcare, etc. Creative solutions to elicit women’s feedback are sometimes necessary. For example, in Sudan, the United Nations Development Programme2 found that women were uncomfortable participating in town hall style meetings on constitutional reform, but when women Members of Parliament (MPs) hosted ‘teas’ in their homes, women constituents were much more forthcoming with their opinions. Ideology is a long-term set of ideas that provides a political party with a set of short-term, value-based policies, which can be articulated in political contests. The worksheet “Connecting Policies Back to Ideology” provides a simple, yet useful, visual of the relationship between values, policies and ideology. “Critical Questions for Political Parties: Ideology in the 21st Century” provides questions to help parties think about how ideology connects with their values and policies. Values can legitimize individuals’ positions; they define a party’s ambition and determine its strategy. Giving space within the party structures for values-driven activists to help shape a party’s approach to policy development is critically important in promoting unique and distinct platforms that resonate with party members and supporters. As Luke Akal, the African Liberal Network Coordinator shows in the personal experience essay below, broad party consultation to help party leaders understand people’s values not only connects a political party to voters, it also helps inform realistic policy solutions that respond to citizens’ concerns.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Ideology in the 21st Century- Examples from the African Continent By Luke Akal, the African Liberal Network Coordinator

In an era of growing populism and other pseudo-political viewpoints, current trends seem to indicate a clear breakaway from the ideological roots of mainstream political parties. Even the not-so-mainstream parties appear to be losing core supporters with this tidal wave rise of whatever is popular. 2. Jason Gluck, “Conflict and Constitutions: Ensuring Women’s Rights” (panel, United States Institute of Peace, April 12, 2017)

16


A BLUEPRINT


The African perspective however, is interestingly different. On this continent, you often find a close corroboration between ideology and policy. The philosophy may still inform the political decision. Regardless of other global trends, political values are important to many African party organizations. One example of this is the recent developments in the The Gambia. This tiny West African country with a population of just over 1.8 million people, finally overcame the endemic strong man syndrome suffered by so many states on the continent. The fight against and victory over this dread disease was not won on behalf of Africans by so-called Western imposition. Instead, the Economic Community of West African States held its own in working towards liberation for Gambians. President Macky Sall of Senegal, a leading regional member state of the bloc, took the lead. His party, established in the liberal ideology, committed to its position on regional cooperation and greater integration. As a result, the Senegalese, Ivorians, and Nigerians, amongst others, pressured The Gambia to ensure the outcome of the democratic elections was upheld. In South Africa, the Democratic Alliance embarked on an organization-wide consultation following the country’s 2014 national elections. Staff members, public representatives and all structures provided input in a coordinated manner, which informed decision-makers’ strategy for the local elections in 2016. This broad consultation may have been one of the factors enabling the party’s machinery to gain record wins and control over new major municipalities, including Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Nelson Mandela Bay. Values bridge the gap between the issues impacting everyday lives and party policies, and are an important point of connection with target voters.

Pointers for further reflection: ññ Is it only in times of crises that values and ideology become important again? ññ Whilst a crisis moment might be the wake-up call needed in the most desperate of times, your party should use its structures for regular assessment. Both the organizational and political complements should review and provide input to party direction. ññ Consider your party’s current set of policies. What informs these and which processes determine them? ññ How relevant is your party’s communication in current national and regional discourse? Is it wellintegrated with the party’s platform? ññ Is the party’s machinery, professional and political, united in a set of values rooted in ideology? ññ Values can remain critical and be communicated in a way that resonates with the hearts and minds of voters. Ideology is not considered “sexy” and can be a hard sell in this postmodern world.

17


A BLUEPRINT


Political parties that fail to attend to citizens’ value-based concerns risk losing support to populist movements with an ideology of homogeneousness or “sameness.” Parties attempting to appeal to the broadest possible voter base are often viewed as not having principles, abandoning original values for electoral gain. The success of populist movements, or protest actions, demonstrate that people do have perspective or ideologically, definable values and concerns. Populists are distinctive and claim that traditional political elites are out of touch and secretive. To change this opinion and to demonstrate that they are not secretive or elite, parties should involve citizens in the policymaking process and decision-making cycles. When ordinary citizens are no longer part of the policymaking process, or decision-making cycle, parties and politicians seem opaque and inconsistent. As Hans van Baalen reminds below, reconnecting with citizens involves listening to them — even if you disagree with them.

How to fight populism? PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

By Hans van Baalen, VVD MEP, Netherlands, and President for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe

How can we fight populism? First of all, parties have to re-connect with citizens by addressing and acknowledging the problems citizens are facing. Instead of sweeping their concerns under the carpet and playing these problems down, parties should engage and embrace them. To distinguish ourselves from populists, who only create noise and fear, parties must offer fact-driven solutions and take responsibility. Furthermore, it is important to think carefully about how party messages come across to voters. If citizens don’t recognize your party, they won’t vote for you. Therefore, it is important to reach out to new groups, especially young people, and effectively embed the types of communications they use in party communications (for example social media, or advertising during a popular radio show). In addition, open town hall debates on various appealing issues could replace traditional political, closed door meetings, and collaborate with like-minded forces (i.e. civil society, community leaders, businesses or sister parties from other countries).3 These are first steps toward a permanent campaign to expand a party’s electoral base and mobilize support. To defeat the populists in the polls, it is important to produce results, and offer visible and pragmatic solutions to the issues that are most important to voters. As Pedro Sánchez, the Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party noted at the 21st Century Parties Conference, parties should not focus on populism, but rather on solutions for the people who vote for populists. Instead of criticizing populist leaders, parties should look internally in order to win back many of these voters.

3. Parties must recognize and address potential gendered barriers to these types of activities and communications avenues, including: structural barriers like access to technology, ability to travel, availability of childcare; and individual barriers, like socialization or cultural stigma attached to participating in certain kinds of fora. 18


A BLUEPRINT


Some Helpful Tips for Getting Ahead 1. Get out and talk to the public! Don’t rely on solely speaking to people in your party for advice; they share your worldview and ideological beliefs. Find people who do not agree with you and ask them why. 2. If party leaders are widely seen as unrepresentative of the wider population you represent, your party should make serious changes to broaden your base both internally and externally. 3. Organize open community town hall meetings and focus on issues of concern to your target audience. Use volunteers to do some preliminary work behind the scenes, for example ‘on street surveys’ to ascertain key issues people want to talk about before the meetings. Partner with local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), schools and universities to give the townhalls credibility and diversity. 4. Assign people in your party to be outreach ambassadors to specific communities- women, youth, rural populations, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) communities, religious minorities, etc. Let them be the face of your party at community events, trainings and canvassing exercises. 5. Create a welcoming space for women and minorities to succeed. Ensure your party code of conduct includes protection against discrimination for minorities. Gaining citizens’ trust means acknowledging their genuine concerns and taking responsibility to realistically solve problems. Voters are generous in their expectations of what is realistic but they are frustrated by political parties providing insincere promises that are never fulfilled. In many countries, new movements or political parties that present “fresh” faces with no prior political experience are tapping into citizen frustration with traditional parties. Observers of the 2015 presidential race in Argentina noted that Mauricio Macri’s defeat of the populist Peronist candidate was, in part, because of support of activists and young professionals who had never engaged in politics before 2015. In 2014 a Slovenian party of non-politicians, Stranka Mira Ceraja (SMC), was elected to form a government six weeks after the founding of the party. While the stratospheric rise of the SMC is an exceptional case, it demonstrates that when voters are frustrated with the status quo, they will take advantage of alternative options. As parties attempt to court voters they water down their policies and lose ideological distinction. All parties appear to be the same in opposition and government. Because they all seem to be the same, they fail to inspire those looking for alternative or principled political actors. While compromise and accommodation are important virtues in a democracy, if parties’ actions do not represent the real aspirations of citizens, supporters’ trust is eroded and voters will seek out those who have listened and reflect their priorities.

19


A BLUEPRINT


Additionally, this so-called ‘shift to the middle’ largely removed social and policy issues related to equality from the political agenda, primarily because the demographic groups most likely to be affected by these policies have not been represented in the debate. Matters of maternal health, protections from domestic violence, unemployment insurance, employment for young people, gender quotas, access to education, political and cultural rights for minority populations, and so on have been left behind with minimal consideration of the long-term consequences. The widening social and economic inequalities that have resulted are key drivers of growing political extremism and populism.

20


A BLUEPRINT


MODERN POLITICAL REPRESENTATION Around the world, citizens have an uncomfortable relationship with political parties. Most people will acknowledge that parties are important for democracy, but they lack significant information about parties’ objectives or values. Voters are often unable to tell the difference between many political parties that fail to communicate distinguishable programs. When parties do communicate with voters, usually at election time, they make grandiose promises that voters dismiss as unrealistic. In many countries, the disconnect between parties and citizens has serious implications for the survival of democracy itself. Research has shown that as economic and security conditions deteriorate in conflict-prone countries, the trust deficit in democratic institutions in general, and political parties in particular, grows. Engaging citizens in a meaningful way not only strengthens political parties as organizations, it strengthens the entire democratic process. People have demonstrated that they are interested in causes, activism, policy, and democratic life. However, some parties have failed to appeal as a vehicle for all those things. Many parties develop internal cultures that discourage engaged membership by new activists — such as women, young women and young men and other marginalized groups — by protecting their historical roots including traditional methodologies, tribal interests and personalized networks all of which often reflect, masculine gender norms, and dismissing new ideas and innovations. Additionally, there has been a professionalization of political activism, with companies providing strategic advice, and ignoring or limiting the ability of earnest supporters to contribute in a meaningful manner. These trends can hinder women’s participation by entrenching an ‘old boys’ network that is hard to penetrate. For example, women are typically more active in grassroots level activities such as party volunteering, and intermediate organizational strategic roles can be a pathway from active membership to leadership. Outsourcing those functions removes the limited opportunities for advancement. Mistrust of politicians needs to be addressed through more rigorous accountability and transparency. The personal experience from Spain, on the following page, shows how a political party leader understood that an outdated internal party culture needed to change in order to reconnect with citizens and restore trust among supporters. If political parties do not reflect the constituencies they claim to represent or the voters they wish to attract, they lack credibility to speak and act on behalf those constituencies. Too many political parties around the world continue to be elite clubs that do not reflect the diversity of their communities. Societies are becoming increasingly diverse, and technology is changing the way in which people communicate, identify, and engage. Diversity of communities requires political parties to develop external and internal policies that reflect concerns of minority and marginalized groups.

21


A BLUEPRINT


Women are not a minority; in fact, in many countries they represent the majority of voters. Yet women are marginalized in most political institutions around the world. In the 21st Century, women’s voice and agency in politics should be promoted. This is their right, but the increased diversity that their inclusion brings contributes to stronger, more successful political parties. There are many ways to advance women’s participation in politics, including election systems that are more women-friendly, the use of gender quotas, women-only candidate lists, public funding tied to minimum numbers of female candidates in winnable seats, the adoption of appropriate mechanisms for ensuring zero tolerance for harassment and discrimination, and more.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Excerpts from the 21st Century Conference presentation by Dr. Pedro Sánchez, leader of the Partido Socialista Obrero Español

How can we face the politics of distrust which we see today? Especially for established parties, the answer is simple, yet complex. Lead by example and transform parties to invigorate democracy. Work within the system. The reason for the European Union’s (EU) decline is that institutions are failing to respond adequately to crises of employment, refugees, etc. In addition, the democracies in the EU member states are imperfect. What we should do in Europe then is to strengthen representative democracy in the member states. To achieve this, parties must lead by example. A majority of citizens do not feel represented by parties or parliaments. People feel that political parties and politicians only work for themselves. Most people see impunity as the biggest issue. This has led to an increase in populist, farright and far-left representatives in the EU after the last elections. In Spain, on May 15, 2011, the Indignados movement held a public gathering in the center of Madrid asking for “a real democracy.” Protesters were saying that there is no change and no real democracy, and that “socialist parties” don’t act socialist while in government. In a way the Indignados movement was a constructive means of expressing dissatisfaction. A huge failure of the PSOE was that we didn’t see the impact of these protests. The May 15th movement resulted in the creation of two new parties — Podemos and Ciudadanos. In just two years, the political system was changed from a bi-party system to one with four parties. In the end, the political debate was also transformed from speaking just about left/right issues to a new framework which is new politics versus old politics. What about PSOE? If democracy is about deliberation and decision-making, then the key issue is to engage more with participatory democracy and increase representativeness within the PSOE. To prevent the personalization of politics and to prevent dynasties, we limited the terms of partisan officials (not only for Prime Minister (PM) candidates or big city mayors. There is a party-wide limit of three terms), and run online primaries at each level — even for partisan officials. My party has a 140-

22


A BLUEPRINT


year history, I was the first secretary general elected by the primary system in my party. While flawed, the primary system is one of the best ways to prevent the professionalization of politics. To “practice what we preach” the PSOE became the first political party in the country to establish a relationship with Transparency International (TI), Spain. By forming this relationship, the party agreed to release financial and other internal documents — through TI — to the public. In one year, the party went from a three on TI’s transparency scale to a 10. Soon, other Spanish parties signed their own memorandums of understanding with the organization. We also tried to guarantee gender equality. We established zipper lists of male and female candidates. But this tactic was not as successful as it could have been. To counteract the crisis of representation we tried to have both male and female leaders represented both for fresh blood and to counteract the patriarchy. To be more accountable at the partisan level, I made a personal commitment as a leader that led to my resignation, as I said I would step down if I didn’t succeed. Throughout the years, I also aimed to create open debates with party members and take questions from members at monthly “open assemblies” during which I could speak about what members wanted. We need to change our way of speaking about ideology. We need to “find causes that fight.” For instance Podemos’ strength was identifying with an anti-addiction platform. We should speak more about goals and less about means. Populists attract many voters. We must engage with those voters and show that we understand their concerns and will take up their causes. We should stop focusing on populism itself and focus on solutions for people that vote for populists. Instead of criticizing populists, we should criticize ourselves and win back many of these voters who are former progressives. Among these approaches, financial incentives and penalties have recently been introduced in a few countries to promote the political participation of women. Gary Klaukka, Programme Officer in the Political Parties, Participation and Representation Programme at International IDEA in Stockholm provides examples of how public funding to political parties can be linked to their efforts to recruit and promote women as candidates and elected officials.

23


A BLUEPRINT


The Importance of Gender Equality in a Political Party CASE STUDY

Gary Klaukka, Programme Officer in the Political Parties, Participation and Representation Programme at International IDEA

Last year, women made up about 23 percent of parliamentarians worldwide. This is certainly less than half, but the number has been steadily increasing with gender quotas, among other measures, having an impact. Political parties are in a key position in being able to increase the number of female parliamentarians around the world. After all, parties are the ones that select the individuals they want to field as candidates for elections. Nearly 25 countries have linked the allocation of public funding for political parties to women’s representation. While these initiatives are relatively recent, International IDEA is studying the phenomenon and will launch a report on it in the autumn of 2017. Let us look at a handful of positive examples from around the world. Chile links several aspects of public funding to women’s participation and representation. At least 10 percent of public subsidies given to political parties have to be spent on the improvement on women’s participation in politics. In addition, for each woman elected into parliament, the party receives additional funding. The proportion of women in the Chilean Chamber of Deputies has increased from 7.5 percent in 1997 to 15.8 percent in the 2013 elections. Ireland has taken a strong stance in linking public funding to the proportion of female candidates. If any party has fewer than 30 percent of candidates of any gender, they lose 50 percent of their public funding. This threshold will increase to 40 percent from 2023 onwards. The proportion of women in the Dáil Éireann — the lower house of the Irish legislature — has gone from 12 percent in 1997 to 22 percent in 2016. While not currently enforced, in Kenya, political parties are ineligible for public funding if over twothirds of their internal party leaders are of the same gender. The proportion of women in the National Assembly has gone from 3 percent in 1997 to almost 20 percent last year. In Colombia, 5 percent of the public funding is allocated to parties based on the number of women elected, and 15 percent of the annual public funding goes to promoting the inclusion of women. The proportion of women in the House of Representatives has gone from 8.4 percent in 2006 to almost 20 percent last year. In all the country examples, it is difficult to establish a direct correlation between the provision of public funding and increased women’s representation. This link will be examined in more detail in International IDEA’s research. What is the benefit, political parties might ask, of having restrictions imposed on their spending? There are numerous political parties around the world that have self-imposed rules on increasing women’s representation as candidates. By introducing public funding incentives, political parties are

24


A BLUEPRINT


given monetary incentives to bring in more female candidates. Even when not counting the main reason of equality for wanting to have gender parity in representative institutions, having a more equal party that represents society more broadly can also translate into more votes at the ballot box. Or, as Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, said when asked two years ago why he thought it was important that his cabinet had an equal gender balance: “Because it’s 2015.” But financial incentives are limited to a few cases. In addition, these are less compelling in contexts where private financing dominates elections. Many government leaders - particularly in Europe and in Canada - have led the way in promoting gender parity in politics. In 2008, Prime Minister Jose Zapatero made history when he unveiled a new Spanish cabinet with more women than men. As Gary Klaukka notes, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau understood that in 2015 half the population should be represented as half the government ministers. The only way gender parity in politics and governance will be achieved is through political parties taking this aspect of reform seriously and actively promoting women as influential decisions-makers within all levels of their organizations. In 2017, 23 countries had reserved seats for women in legislatures and 54 countries had legislated quotas for candidates or elections lists. Not all of these were enforced. Additionally, many party leaders see these quotas as a ceiling, not the floor they are intended to be. Party leaders less successful at recruiting and promoting women frequently lament that women “don’t want to be engaged in politics” or “we can’t find women to run as candidates.” This perspective fails to recognize the inherent biases against women’s political participation, many of which are embedded in the ways that political parties conduct business and engage in political competition. Ultimately, leaders of political parties are gatekeepers of the status quo and bear responsibility to make the necessary changes to ensure true equality.


Political Parties: Gatekeepers of the Status Quo4 Excerpts from Political Parties: Gatekeepers of the Status Quo by Sandra Pepera, Director of Gender, Women and Democracy Programs at the National Democratic Institute

The vast majority of political parties were established as male membership institutions and their internal workings reflect the persistence of the gendered roles found in their host societies. Globally women account for about 40-50 percent of party members, but only 10 percent hold leadership

4. This excerpt is republished from the blog post, Political Parties: Gatekeepers of the Status Quo by Sandra Pepera, Director of Gender, Women and Democracy Programs at the National Democratic Institute. Available on the 21st Century Parties blog.

25


A BLUEPRINT


positions. Within parties women tend to lack access to networks of influence and/or resources at the same level as their male counterparts. While quotas can increase women’s representation, they remain largely voluntary or unenforced. In addition, many women have found the internal organization and culture of political parties to be unwelcoming, discriminatory and unsafe. Often, commonly accepted but corrupt behaviour within parties - such as the exchange of material goods for positions of power - changes form or becomes exacerbated for women; they may encounter demands for sexual favors, rather than money, in order to advance, which becomes a form of violence that impacts and can prevent their ability to participate equally.5 To move political parties from being gate-keepers for the status quo to becoming liberating and supportive springboards for gender equality and women’s empowerment, parties could: ññ explicitly prioritize gender equality; ññ provide active support for women’s leadership in all areas of the party; ññ establish zero tolerance for sexual harassment in party spaces; ññ appreciate the gender dimensions of backlash and opposition faced by activists; and ññ adopt 21st century workplace best practices for gender inclusion.6 It would also help if party assistance organizations provided a full suite of technical assistance and peer support programs that tackle the legacies of preceding centuries such as patronage, sexism and impunity, while promoting new norms and standards for the future based on inclusion, merit, and equal access to resources and networks. It is important to fully understand the depth of the gendered power structures in parties and in the societies where we work, and more systemically address the unconscious biases that we all carry. Too many parties are unwilling to go beyond their legal requirement to promote women’s participation, and too few have internal party rules guaranteeing representation of women in meaningful party positions. Candidates and elected representatives are the most visible and public expression of a party’s commitment to gender parity. But the most transformative commitment is to ensure equality in the internal structure, where party decisions are made and resources are allocated. Internal party rules, which are known to everyone, make political parties more transparent and accessible. While rules may not always be followed, it is impossible to hold parties accountable for not implementing rules that do not exist in the first place. Following are a few practical tips, from Shannon O’Connell, Senior Advisor, Gender and Politics, on how to approach internal political party challenges to women’s participation.

5. For more information on this, please see NDI’s #NotTheCost initiative. 6. For example, EDGE the leading global assessment methodology and business certification standard for gender equality. This certification is increasingly sought by organizations outside the private sector.

26


A BLUEPRINT



Women’s participation in political parties By Shannon O’Connell, Senior Advisor, Gender and Politics

The case for very deliberate efforts to increase women’s participation and full engagement in political parties is compelling. So, what can you and your party do to pursue gender equality in your organization? The list below provides some tips on how to approach this. ññ First, decide what structural changes you are going to enact. The structures you are currently working with likely contain, even unintentionally, barriers to women’s participation and forms of gender bias. To give the most obvious example, how much does it really cost to be a candidate in your party? Really. And how many women in your society have that kind of personal cash right now, with nothing better to spend it on than an election campaign? ññ Identify — specifically — what you are going to do as an organization to bring women in, to make them feel welcome and help prepare them for the resource drain and the rough and tumble of politics. The options are unlimited. The Australian Labor Party has a parity policy where each gender must be represented by not less than 40 percent in elections. The National Action Party in Mexico has a robust candidate recruitment and training program for women. The Labour Party in the United Kingdom made significant gains with women-only candidate lists. Other options include reserved seats on party executive bodies, policy groups focused on issues affecting women, special fundraising mechanisms for women candidates, even reimbursing childcare expenses for candidates and party workers. There are plenty of good examples out there. Think about what will make a real difference in your social and political environment. ññ Examine your internal decision-making processes, particularly those involving candidate selection or where money goes. How many of these are ‘informal,’ i.e., there are no established rules of procedure, no clear criteria for choices made, decisions are taken during closed gatherings or in meetings for which no minutes are taken, there’s no schedule or agenda and/or there is no oversight or evaluation process? The more of these you have, the less likely you are to achieve gender equality (or to run a particularly healthy political party for that matter). ññ Same goes for a combative or even violent internal culture. How many of your party’s internal processes are highly confrontational, involve debates without rules, contain an unnecessarily high level of antagonism, or even include rhetorical insults or physical intimidation? If these are present in your party you’ve got more problems than gender inequality, but these are major contributors to keeping women out. Think about how business is conducted in your party, as well as whether these behaviors might be contributing to violence in the electoral environment. Transform these into more inclusive and humanized processes. Quickly. You’re doing no one any favors with this kind of organization involved in politics.

27


A BLUEPRINT


ññ Ask: what is our party leadership saying and, most importantly, doing? An essential element in implementing these types of innovations is that political parties have to want this change, and the call for the necessary systems and resource investment to make this happen has to come from the top. Male or female, if the party leadership isn’t proactively calling for, looking for and implementing real mechanisms for change, it’s not really going to happen. There is an old expression about leadership: the fish rots from the head down. This means that if the leadership fails, the organisation will follow. So, if the fish rots from the head down, it thrives the same way too. ññ Have a plan. Write it down. Share it with other people and get their input. Remember that this is an organizational development strategy that you’re implementing. This type of deliberate change requires a clear, well-supported, well-communicated plan. And, as part of this plan you should anticipate a backlash of some form at some time. Change is scary and some within the party may feel threatened and push back. Anticipate this, but endeavor to prevent it by making the roll-out of reforms as inclusive and consultative a process as possible. And remember: what you’re implementing when you pursue gender equality is a growth agenda. You are going to come out of this better and stronger. These types of efforts are rarely straight-forward or easy, but they are always worth it. Now, get out there and get to work getting women to work in politics and in your political party! Good luck! While often slow, some parties are making progress in guaranteeing women’s representation on internal bodies in written statutes. For example, the mainstream German political parties all have internal rules: the Green Party has a female/male co-chaired presidency, the Social Democratic Party has a 40 percent quota for all party positions, and the Christian Democratic Union reruns internal elections if the 33 percent quota for women is not met. In the United States, delegate selection rules for the Democratic Party mandated that state party delegations should be equally represented by women and men for the 2016 National Convention. Several political parties in new and emerging democracies, particularly in Latin America, also have rules for internal representation but, unfortunately, do not always implement those rules. Sometimes, the first groups of women to enter party politics when structures are put in place to increase women’s representation are elite women, or even female family members of existing party leaders. Just as there should be greater efforts to recruit more women, there should be an explicit effort to include a diverse swath of women - and often the same or similar tactics can be used to ensure this type of diversity. As Shannon O’Connell notes above, internal rules are not enough. Political parties can often be ‘protected’ public spaces, allowing and enabling violence against women within their ranks to take place. Growing data and anecdotal evidence show that violence against politically active women is a major barrier to their full and equal participation; widespread impunity for perpetrators and a lack of awareness about the forms this violence takes both contribute to the issue. This violence is not restricted to physical harm, but also includes psychological, economic or sexual violence, as well as threats or coercion. It encompasses a range of acts that

28


A BLUEPRINT


are designed to control, limit, or prevent women’s full and equal political participation, and can occur both in person and online. It thus becomes critically important for political parties to pass or revise their internal bylaws in order to protect women members and women leaders from violence, however they must also create internal party dispute mechanisms generally, and in particular for any gender-based violence. Women in politics are often targets of hostile and violent attacks because of their participation. Recognition of this violence has increased in recent years, in particular as its visibility has increased with the rise of social media.7 In 2016, a study of women parliamentarians, conducted by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, revealed that most women MPs have experienced some form of hostile or violent behaviour directed to them. Almost half of the women surveyed said they had been abused on social media and many reported sexist remarks directed to them by male colleagues — often from their own political party. It is not that women are not interested in politics, but that they face disproportionate and different levels of violence when they enter political environments, which affects the ways they participate or even prevents their participation entirely. NDI has compiled strategies and opportunities to make violence against politically active women as unacceptable as any other form of violence in its global Call to Action, published as the #NotTheCost: Stopping Violence Against Women in Politics guide.8 Finally, activists who are serious about increasing women’s meaningful representation within political parties need to be more assertive and strategic to achieve equality within their parties. Conducting “gender audits” of party statutes, membership databases and party records of all leadership and board memberships — from the most local level to the national level — is the first step to understanding the gaps in party rules, processes and practices. In order to hold parties accountable for underrepresentation, activists must be able to prove discriminatory behaviors exist. Equal representation will not happen by accident, it must be claimed by the men and women who present evidence-based facts.9 Diversity within political parties: A fundamental characteristic of democracy is that all citizens are able to express their voice and influence decisions affecting their lives. This includes segments of the population traditionally excluded from political power due to social prejudice and stereotypes. In many countries, individuals face exclusion based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. This exclusion can take a variety of forms, both in private and public life, and often prevents members of LBGTI communities from having a voice in the political arena. Barriers to political participation can include laws explicitly criminalizing homosexual behavior or political organizing; a lack of legal protections against discrimination often afforded to other minority groups; or simply societal bias against this segment of the population that results in violent intimidation or an inability to advance in the economic and political sphere.

7. See also It’s Their World, As Long As They’re Not Online. Young Women and Politics, Sandra Pepera, DemWorks, 2017 8. Find out more about NDI’s #NotTheCost initiative here. 9. NDI is currently updating its Win With Women Political Party Assessment tool, which focuses gathering information on how the operations, systems or culture of a party help or hinder the overall status of women within party ranks. The updated assessment tool will be available in early 2018.

29


A BLUEPRINT


As political parties attempt to recruit members, supporters and voters it is in their best interests to be inclusive. Increasingly women and youth are being given a voice within parties and, as norms change, LGBTI communities are also being brought in. The worksheet on “Rethinking Organizational Approaches and Identifying Sectors of the Population” provides useful questions to help understand how different groups relate to the party. Ensuring that internal structures and practices are sensitive to diversity is important. For example, how, when and where party executives meet is important because these factors either enable or prevent student activists, child and elder caregivers, as well as the employed or underemployed from participating. Utilizing technology can expand the opportunities for diverse group participation through online forums and social media updates.10 Understanding who, within the party, benefits from political party financing helps parties assess concrete support to diverse groups. “Critical Questions for Political Parties: Inclusion and Party Finance” provides a guide for questions to ask. As Harriet Shone, Head of International Office, Liberal Democrats United Kingdom (UK) observes below,“ diversity isn’t solely about representation...it is an issue of engagement.”

The Importance of Diversity in Political Parties: A British Perspective PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

By Harriet Shone, Head of International Office, Liberal Democrats UK

During their post-WWII peak, British political parties were genuine mass movements with millions of members. Members were loyal and involved, and votes were reliable. In 1953, the British Conservative Party, with 2.8 million members, was one of the largest organizations in Europe. During the same period, the Labour Party had over a million members and the Liberals well over a hundred thousand. While membership numbers have decreased in recent years, parties are still the most practical political vehicles. There is currently no better method for mobilizing voters or recruiting future leaders. So, what can parties do to get citizens back into party politics, at least as voters? A starting point would be ensuring that parties represent all the people for whom they claim to speak. Modern established political parties continue to be overwhelmingly dominated by white men, with alarmingly few ‘future leaders’ climbing the ranks. This lack of diversity angers younger voters who are largely ignored by politicians, and notably more concerned about the under-representation of women, ethnic and sexual minorities than previous generations. For the Liberal Democrats, addressing the lack of diversity meant facing our own shortcomings. Despite a progressive and inclusive platform, we haven’t attracted women and ethnic minorities as effectively as other parties. This forced us to implement a top-down agenda, favoring underrepresented groups

10. But, an over-reliance on technology to reach new groups can overlook those with less regular access- eg. women in developing countries are 25 percent less likely to be online, and often use the internet differently. Parties should gender disaggregate the users they interact with to ensure they’re reaching equal numbers of men and women.

30


A BLUEPRINT


in target seat candidate selections, and in vital internal committee elections. Slowly, this has impacted the party’s makeup. The recent Richmond Park by-election, where our candidate Sarah Olney won the parliamentary seat, was a milestone for the party, bringing in a talented and promising female MP into the fold, after more than eighteen months with an all-male parliamentary party. We are now, as a matter of principle, selecting women and members of underrepresented ethnicities as candidates in the most winnable seats in an effort to build on this result. Crucially, we have also seen a diversification of our internal structures, with the December 2016 internal elections resulting in the most diverse internal committee structures of the Party yet. Important internal decisions are now being made by a much more diverse group of people than at any other time in our history. While top-down rules are being applied, we are delighted to see that a cultural shift in the party means that we only had to apply the diversity criteria in one committee election, and more than 50 percent of those elected to our highest committee, the Federal Board, were women who ran on their own accord. With our Party President and Headquarters (HQ) showing leadership on the issue, we have seen party members at every level taking up the cause and acting to pre-empt any intervention from Party HQ. However, diversity isn’t solely about representation. As those least represented are also those least engaged, it is an issue of engagement. To engage people of all faiths, ethnicities and backgrounds in politics, parties should abandon the old-fashioned notion that people will approach them, and instead seek them out. This means campaigning in communities; going to mosques, churches, synagogues and community centres, speaking - and listening - to people, without expecting an immediate political return. The Liberal Democrats have appointed regional diversity champions to oversee this outreach and have established a diversity committee to ensure there is a joined-up approach to this outreach program. This is a slow and steady investment of time and effort, but the only way for a political party to diversify its long-term support base. Political parties aren’t going anywhere; you still need to join a party to become Prime Minister. However, if parties want to re-engage their citizens, boost overall turnout and win back members, they need to get serious about diversity. The rise of citizen-based movements and issue-specific campaigns suggests that political parties in older democracies are also failing to engage citizens in a meaningful way. Too often political party leaders think people will flock to them because they have a good idea. Experts in political parties are conflicted about whether declining membership in political parties presents a crisis or whether the decline reflects the 21st century reality that technology has changed the way in which citizens engage in politics. The worksheet “Critical Questions for Political Parties: Party Membership” helps parties think about what membership means to their party, to supporters and to citizens at large. As the case study from the British Liberal Democrats shows, parties need to make an effort to reach out to citizens; they won’t come searching for you. There are too many competing issues and organizations that are willing to listen to citizens and engage them in activities that are important to them, not to you. People used to join parties to access information and for social reasons; today citizens can find those things outside of parties.

31


A BLUEPRINT


Evidence from recent political events suggest that traditional “non-voters,” often younger, are bypassing established political parties and expressing their frustration by upending conventional political wisdom. The election in the United States, the rise of populist parties, and civil movements in Europe and around the globe indicate that people are interested in political issues and activities, but they do not find mainstream political parties are the appropriate vehicle for their engagement. Ultimately, reflecting the diversity within the community is an important measure for democratic parties. It reinforces the the relevance of political activism, and the utility of party membership. Importantly, the inclusion of people within a party cannot be window dressing or pro forma. This is even more important for women and minorities who are often used as - or perceived to be - tokens within the party. Their participation must be substantive in terms of contribution to the policy- and decision-making processes, access to elected office, and opportunities to represent the party to broader audiences. Engaging citizens can take many forms and can be done at different levels using traditional or innovative methods. The worksheet “Supply vs. Demand of Citizen Input” is a useful guide on how parties can solicit input from citizens. In 2016 a new party in Armenia, “Bright Armenia,” launched a “listening tour” in an effort to proactively create a channel for citizen engagement. While listening is an important component of communication, reflecting citizens’ input in party policies and actions demonstrates that the party has also heard, and cares what citizens have to say. The Danish Alternative party - as highlighted earlier in this document - crowdsources all of its policies, thus formalizing citizen input into policies. In the Philippines, the Akbayan party develops its policy agenda with input from consultative sectoral groups, which consult with local civil society organizations and citizen movements on concrete policies and actions.11 Communication is a two-way street and requires engaging and responding, not just pushing out a message and hoping for the best. Communicating with supporters and voters has changed drastically in the 21st century. In recent years, connecting with people on social media has helped populist movements bypass traditional media and reach frustrated citizens. In many countries, political parties continue to invest precious resources in traditional party newspapers or media outlets. Readership of partisan newspapers is declining in most countries and parties who rely on their own media to deliver their message are simply “preaching to the converted.” Most parties around the world have websites but fail to update them, or treat them as a one-way communication tool to deliver party messages without collecting information from people who visit the site. Nowhere is this two-way concept of communication more important than when using social media. As Iain Gill, International Political Party Consultant notes on the next page, social media has been at the forefront of much political change in recent years, and parties need to adapt - particularly if they want the support of younger voters.

11. NGOs are a particularly important ally in engaging with women, who tend to be more active in civil society than in politics. NGOs often have credibility where parties might be seen as corrupt or off-limits.

32


A BLUEPRINT



Social Media and Political Parties in the 21st Century By Iain Gill, International Political Party Consultant

To suggest political parties are having a modernity crisis would be an understatement. Party membership, voter engagement and turnout are in decline around the world while apathy, acquiescence and disillusionment are on the rise. The combination of these factors and the rise of social media has allowed citizen movements to become more numerous, more appealing and more effective. Consequently, formal political institutions are struggling to stay relevant. According to the British Office for National Statistics census, 83 percent of UK citizens said they ‘tend not to trust’ political parties. In the 1950s, one person in every 10 was a member of a political party. Now, there are more people who identify their religion as ‘Jedi’ than there are members of the Conservative Party. In order to survive, political parties must adjust to the changing social and political climate. Recent advancements in computer technology, interconnectivity and internet access have proved to be a potent instrument for change and transformation. Social media has been at the forefront of many political movements across the world, and therefore parties must be prepared for the sustained and effective use of the internet. The so-called “Arab Spring,” which first started in North Africa through social media, saw the fall of three despotic regimes. Although access remains intermittent in some areas, new technology will soon see some of the world’s least connected countries become the best connected in a few short years. Social media provides a free tool for parties to reach millions of voters. However, it is not as simple as setting up an account and allowing it to run. Social media requires daily work. You need to communicate on your audience’s platform of choice. People want to hear from you where they hang out, not where you want them to be found. Some of the most popular social media sites on which you should be present are Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. People will generally not visit your website regularly, so if you want to connect with people online you must meet them where they spend most of their time.

Here are some tips for getting ahead: ññ In closed political environments with state controlled media, social media allows parties to maintain control over their political communications. ññ Engage with your followers: do not simply use your social media platforms to push information out to your followers, but use every opportunity to respond to their questions and comments in a twoway conversation. ññ Understand to whom you’re directing your message — party members, media, voters. Each require a different message.  For example, mobile phones - voice and SMS messaging - can be effective outreach tools for those in rural environments.

33


A BLUEPRINT


ññ Don’t just overload followers with information. Make sure you provide opportunities for them to get involved and feel engaged. Ask them to sign a petition, share a story, give their thoughts on a policy question or share a link with their followers. ññ It takes work: social media is not a set-it-and-forget-it proposition. For some reason, many people think that all that is required is the initial work setting up a “presence.” For your online profile to work for you, it needs attentive, responsive, ongoing work. ññ Connect the online and offline worlds: every party activity should have complimentary online and offline elements woven together. This can include posting photos on Facebook of a real-life event, creating a single hashtag (#) for attendees to tweet during an event or holding live events online, like a ‘Twitter Town Hall.’ ññ Get your party leadership and public representatives to create their own profiles or Twitter handles to share updated party news. Activists tend to respond to volunteer requests if asked by an elected representative instead of by their staff. However, it is equally important for party leadership to keep in mind that for women representatives, online activism/outreach can be a minefield. According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, 80 percent of women parliamentarians reported being targeted by psychological attacks online, including threats of violence, rape and death. Parties should be willing to help female leaders deal with the backlash and security and psychological risks that come with being a female public figure on the internet.12   Social media has become an essential component of outreach strategy for political parties around the world. Even in countries where internet penetration is still low, social media has become a powerful tool to reach young citizens and gather input. In Pakistan, for instance, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz uses social media to reach out to voters, announce news and get feedback on new policies. In the 21st century, investing the time to develop and maintain a social media communications strategy is a fundamental ingredient of modern political representation. However, in many parts of the world, particularly in areas of low internet penetration, there is a significant gender gap in access. A 2013 Intel study13 indicates that women in developing countries are 25 percent less likely to be online than men. Social media is powerful, but party leaders should remember that reaching women, rural and older populations may necessitate some additional steps.

12. For more information, please see NDI’s “Tech4Parties” Guide, www.tech4parties.org. 13. Women and the Web: Bridging the Internet gap and creating new global opportunities in low and middleincome countries

34


A BLUEPRINT


PAYING FOR DEMOCRACY In order to effectively compete in the democratic process, political parties need funding. In the 21st century, the cost of politics is increasing and paying for democracy has created a belief among many citizens that political parties are corrupt; a belief that is reinforced by never-ending scandals involving money and politics. No issue causes more grief for political parties, both from an organizational and strategic point of view, and as a public relations management challenge. Over the years, more and more countries are providing public funding to political parties. Today, approximately 80 percent of states around the world provide some form of financing to contestants within the political system. The underlying goal of providing public funding is to achieve a system that not only preserves opportunities for all citizens to participate equally, but also allows enough funds for sustainable competition among political parties, both in electoral and representative activities. Ideally, funding should: be distributed in an appropriate and timely manner; apply pro rata to ruling, opposition, and emerging and newly established parties; relieve candidates, political parties and elected officials of disproportionate influence from large donors; and free citizens other than party members from pressure by parties to give financial support. Public funding does not, however, begin to cover the real costs of politics — particularly for individual candidates aspiring to public office. In an examination of the cost of parliamentary politics in six countries, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) notes that securing a nomination on a party list can be prohibitively costly for most individuals. In Ghana, for instance, candidates report spending as much as GHS 12,000 (over USD 30,000) in the primary process, in addition to an equally costly nomination process with the Electoral Commission. In Kyrgyzstan, the estimated cost to secure a place on a party list is estimated at over USD 200,000. In Nigeria, potential candidates are expected to make payments to delegates and powerful party officials if they wish to emerge victorious at nomination conventions. The WFD rightfully posits that candidates who invest so much of their personal funds, or the funds of others, will seek ways to recoup those funds once elected. While few political parties have official nomination fees that are prohibitive, in practice many take advantage of the competitive processes. However, there are some countries such as Kenya, who have reduced rates for women, to help encourage their participation. The high personal cost of running for office has a disproportionate impact on women candidates. Since candidacy overall is a gamble and because women tend to make less money, and have less access to and control over personal wealth, the possibility of losing money becomes one of the largest barriers for women who are considering to run. Even just the perception of high cost often keeps women from running - though some studies indicate women candidates are able to fundraise as successfully as men, a 2013 report of female candidates and legislators from the United States found the number one hesitation in running for office was fundraising.

35


A BLUEPRINT


With increased public funding, comes increased scrutiny and regulation on how political parties spend money. Out of 111 countries surveyed by International IDEA, 70 have some kind of political financing regulations in place. While there are some similarities in regulations, the political landscape varies between countries. Each country’s approach is influenced by practices that have been established over many years, and its exposure to scandals or other political finance-related issues. In countries where no regulated system of public or private finance existed, political parties became accustomed to devising creative, and at times inappropriate, funding methods. With that context and history, it can be difficult for parties to break patterns of corruption, even though a system of party finance has been instituted. But the following case study from Somalia shows that even struggling democracies, mired in corruption, understand the need to attempt to regulate the way political parties raise and spend money.

Partnership, Party Law and Perspectives from a Party Assistance Organization14 CASE STUDY

By Cecilia Bylesjö, Director of Programmes at the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights

The Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights works with a variety of aspiring political parties around the world to enhance their knowledge on overall good governance, party organizational structure, and internal democracy. One of the organization’s strongest partnerships is in the newly established democracy of Somalia. In 2014 we worked with the Somali Speaker of the House who established an ad hoc committee on ‘political parties and multi-party systems’ comprised of members of parliament, and representatives from the Prime Minister’s office, Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Interior. Some of the priority areas included research, policy development and political party law. The following challenges were identified during these discussions: ññ To secure a competitive multiparty democracy based on peace and ideology as an efficient vehicle for change in Somalia, political parties cannot be based on clan or ethnic membership exclusively; and ññ Too many parties competing in an election is unworkable, a challenge in a country that since the 1969 election has had over 200 parties.

14. These discussions took place before and helped inform the political party law that was passed by the Parliament and assented to by the president on June 27th, 2016. The law addresses many issues highlighted in this case study.

36


A BLUEPRINT


When asked, ‘How do we limit corruption and level the playing field at the same time as we limit the number of political parties?’ the response was found to be a mixture of the following: ññ state funding; ññ clear limitation of funding sources; and ññ clear legal language. Some of the key conclusions from the committee’s findings included: 1. Foreign governments will not be permitted to provide funding to political parties as this would encroach on the sovereignty of the country. 2. The Somali diaspora and respective clans would be allowed to donate funds with limitations with regard to amount and Somali citizenship. 3. There will be a penalty for political parties not complying with political party regulations including warnings, fines and de-registration in future elections. The ad hoc committee agreed to enable the implementation of a political party law and three key areas would be further addressed including: 1. Political party culture — anchoring democratic cultures in the party structure; 2. The party system — interparty system with strong collaboration between the parties is needed to ensure a fair and free election; and 3. Democratic culture — with emphasis on public participation in the making of the law in Somalia. With so many regulations on political financing and so much public attention on scandals, why is political corruption still major problem in the 21st century? Regulations alone are not enough. A political finance legal framework needs to be comprehensive, and rigorously enforced. A comprehensive regulatory regime should extend beyond political parties. While parties are certainly an important entry point for illicit money, state capture that enriches governing elites and perpetuates clientelistic governance prevents the fair distribution of state resources. Media or election regulations that fail to establish a level playing field force political contestants to work around the system and create interest groups, which fall outside the regulatory framework. Opaque rules regulating the behaviour of public officials often result in conflicts of interest that may or may not be intentional. In some cases, women candidates rely more on ‘soft money’ because they do not have equal access to party funds or to networks of traditional donors like unions or businesses. While increased regulation is important across the board, it must be paired with ensuring equal access to ‘clean’ sources of funds. The scope of regulations concerning political finance and the methods

37


A BLUEPRINT


of their enforcement depend on the detail in the legislative framework, and on the powers of oversight and investigation. Vague regulations prove impossible to enforce and further undermine public confidence. On the other hand, regulations that are overly burdensome and too detailed are impossible to comply with, and force parties and candidates to circumvent them. Compromises between ambivalent and detailed regulations often hinder enforcement, the single most important component of any political finance regulation. Once comprehensive regulations are in place, enforcement of those regulations must be a priority. Too often oversight bodies are too politicized or under-resourced to enforce regulations. For instance, in many countries, political parties file financial reports, as required by law. The problem results when the oversight mechanism is weak; an election management body or state audit agency may lack sufficient power or space to effectively enforce the rules and penalize infractions. A common criticism in the fight against corruption is the lack of “political will” to hold powerful political elites, including non-elected donors, to account. If political parties hope to counter anti-corruption calls of populist movements that promise to clean out the government they will need to be more transparent about who gives them money, what those donors receive in exchange and how donations and public funds are spent. Political parties are very much part of the problem when it comes to issues relating to political finance and must, therefore, be part of the solution. “Flow of Money into the Party” provides questions to consider when examining how political parties are, and should be funded. “What Does Money Mean to your Party” has practical exercises to understand the relationship between influence and money. Spain’s PSOE party provides a concrete example of a political party responding to public pressure and the calls of populist movements for less corruption and more transparency. Political parties need to lead the way and provide “political will” by being more transparent and accountable with their internal finances if they are to convince skeptical citizens that they take seriously the broader challenges of combating political corruption.

In 2014, the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) was the first political organization in Spain to sign an agreement with Transparency International (TI), Spain. The agreement commits the party to publishing its monthly budget and expenditures, general facts and figures about the party, and information about party-affiliated organizations (such CASE STUDY as foundations). Not only did the agreement reinforce PSOE’s public credibility, it changed the party’s internal culture in just one year. Since signing with PSOE, TI has signed agreements with three other political parties in Spain.

38


A BLUEPRINT


CONCLUSION As technology continues to advance and spread, traditional, elite-based political parties no longer enjoy the unconditional support and trust of citizens. In an age when millions of ordinary citizens have the ability to react and respond to an idea or an image in a matter of minutes, political parties have lost the privileged pulpit from which they used to be able to shape and control public opinion. The democratization of information requires strong democratic institutions that are able to stand up to the scrutiny and demands of an increasingly frustrated population. If political parties do not meet the challenges they face, they risk becoming irrelevant. It is impossible for one document to cover the many hurdles facing political parties around the world in the 21st century. This guide only begins to touch on the broad themes of ideology, modern political representation and paying for democracy; themes that most practitioners, party activists and academics believe are global dilemmas facing political parties. Although these themes are subject to country-specific contexts and historical influences, we can conclude that there are common challenges:

Ideology Ideology — like democracy — is a living concept that needs to be renewed, nurtured and, periodically, evaluated. Traditional notions of political party ideology may be outdated and are failing to respond to 21st century political challenges, but that does not mean ideology is less necessary. The opposite is true. Any “crisis of ideology” is that political parties are failing to provide ideas that inspire citizens and unite voters with a common sense of beliefs and values. More ideological distinctiveness and battles of ideas are needed to answer the “what do you stand for” question of voters. Unless ideology is translated into specific policy choices, it will remain an abstract notion and meaningless to voters. Political parties can, and should, shape or renovate their ideas by involving citizens directly in the process. Giving space within the party structures for values-driven activists to help shape party policy approaches is critically important in promoting distinctiveness among parties’ ideas. The rise of alternative parties and citizen-based movements show that people are eager for new ideas and solutions to the challenges of the 21st century.

Modern Political Representation Engaging citizens in a meaningful way not only strengthens political parties as organizations, it strengthens the entire democratic process. But if parties do not reflect the constituencies they claim to represent, or the voters they wish to attract, they lack credibility to speak and act on behalf those constituencies. Too many political parties around the world continue to be elite clubs that do not reflect the diversity of their communities.

39


A BLUEPRINT


In the 21st century, women continue to be severely underrepresented in most of the world’s political institutions. Gender equality will not happen by accident. It takes deliberate strategies and leadership to ensure that women are equal and active partners in the party's organization and representation, which includes ensuring zero tolerance for harassment and discrimination. An initial step in this effort can be to mandate equal representation on all decision-making bodies in political parties. Many times, because they are not affected by them, party leaders are unaware of some of the invisible barriers to women’s participation within their party, it is thus necessary for leaders to identify the key barriers that women face and implement a strategy to overcome these barriers. Unless leaders of political parties want to be viewed as gatekeepers of the status quo,15 they must take the responsibility to make the changes necessary to ensure that their organizations truly campaign, organize and reflect their commitment to women’s empowerment. Other marginalized citizens continue to be drastically underrepresented in political institutions, including segments of the population traditionally excluded from political power due to social prejudice and stereotypes. In many countries, individuals face exclusion based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. In other countries, the exclusion of ethnic or religious minorities contributes to ongoing divisions and, often, conflict. A fundamental characteristic of democracy is that all citizens are able to use their voice to influence decisions affecting their lives. Participation in political parties must be substantive in terms of contribution to the policyand decision-making processes, access to elected office, and opportunities to represent the party to broader audiences. Reaching and engaging marginalized supporters is easier than ever in the 21st century and parties must use innovative methods of engaging and communicating with citizens, or risk being left behind by those who understand and employ new technologies to engage activists.

Paying for Democracy In the 21st century, the cost of politics is increasing and paying for democracy has created a belief among many citizens that political parties are corrupt; a belief that is reinforced by never-ending scandals involving money and politics. An increasing number of countries provide some form of funding to political parties, and with increased public funding comes increased scrutiny and regulation on how political parties spend money. If political parties hope to counter anti-corruption calls of populist movements they will need to be more transparent about who gives them money, what those donors receive in exchange, and how donations and public funds are spent. Political parties are very much part of the problem when it comes to issues relating to political finance and must, therefore, be part of the solution. Political parties need to lead the way and provide “political will” by being more transparent and accountable with their internal finances if they are to convince skeptical citizens that they take seriously the broader challenges of combating political corruption. This guide is part of an ongoing discussion on how parties are, or should be, responding to political and 15. Sandra Pepera. "Political Parties: Gate-Keepers of the Status Quo," 21st Century Parties: The Party Renewal Initiative (blog), May 2016.

40


A BLUEPRINT


technological challenges and adapting to new realities. It is deliberately practical so that political parties can consider how to best renew their organizations and respond to changes in their own communities. Hopefully this guide will generate more questions and solutions by political parties in different regions on how they can best respond to today’s rapidly changing world.

41


A BLUEPRINT


WORKSHEETS Citizen Relations: Identifying Sectors of the Population Rethinking Organizational Approaches and Identifying Sectors of the Population Women are half the population, not a minority group, but tend to be severely underrepresented in political parties. Other social or identity groups that often face marginalization include youth, ethnic or religious minorities, people with disabilities, and LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex) communities.

Party Inclusiveness: 1. Which social or identity groups do most members of your party come from? Why do you think this is? 2. Are there social or identity groups that support but are not full members of your party? (i.e. women, people with disabilities, ethnic or religious minorities, members of LGBTI communities, etc.) If so, why do you think this is? 3. Are there social or identity groups (i.e. women, people with disabilities, ethnic or religious minorities, members of LGBTI communities, etc.) who are generally undecided about whether or not to support your party? If so, why do you think this is? How has your party been successful in attracting support from these groups?

42


A BLUEPRINT


4. Which social or identity groups are generally opposed to supporting your party? Why do you think this is? Is there anything you could do to gain their support and broaden your party’s base? 5. Think about the various levels of leadership within your party. At each level, what are specific initiatives the party could undertake to erase formal and informal barriers to women’s participation and ensure equal representation of women? Use these specific ideas to draft a gender mainstreaming strategy that addresses all types of engagement, including membership, party activism, candidate selection and party decision-making structures. 6. How could these strategies be used to incorporate representation from other social or identity groups? (Please see the pull-out box at the end of this worksheet.) 7. What specific activities does your party do to reach out to diverse social and identity groups (e.g. women, people with disabilities, ethnic or religious minorities, members of LGBTI communities, etc.) in its grassroots organizing? 8. Does your party have a network or wing dedicated to women or youth? Other groups?

43


A BLUEPRINT


Formal & Informal Party Roles: 1. Outside of elections, what formal and informal roles do full members of your party fill in party functions? Formal: Informal: 2. Outside of elections, what formal and informal roles do non-member supporters of your party fill in party functions? Formal: Informal: 3. How does the party reach out to undecided voters both during and outside of the election cycle? Do these voters play any role in prioritizing policies, either formally or informally? Formal: Informal:

44


A BLUEPRINT


Formal vs Informal Barriers Barriers to political participation are complex and can be built formally (e.g. through political party rules) or informally (e.g. through non-accessible public spaces). It is important for political parties to consider both sorts of barriers and how they prevent particular groups from active participation. Below are several examples of both sorts of barriers that are meant to help parties understand how barriers take shape.

Formal

Informal

Political parties prevent certain societal groups from joining or attending party events.

Parties use only one language in official and unofficial communication.

Political parties set membership fees with the intention of making them too high for particular groups of citizens to afford.

Parties hold public events in locations that do not provide means of access for persons with disabilities.

Political party leaders make public statements against or in favor of particular societal groups

The schedule of party events favors the usual schedule of only one type of citizen (for instance, party events are held when citizens with irregular hours are at work, or when citizens are expected to perform household duties).

45


A BLUEPRINT


Connecting Policies Back to Ideology As part of a two-way dialogue with citizens, political parties benefit from coherent policies that take root in their shared values. In turn, these shared values stem from a party’s overarching ideology. Please take a look at the visuals below, thinking about how your party’s policies feed into its values, and how (if at all) those policies and values represent your party’s ideology.

IDEOLOGY

Value 1

Value 2

Value 3

Policy 1

Policy 2

Policy 3

46


A BLUEPRINT


Visualized another way:

IDEOLOGY

POLICIES

VALUES

On the next page is an illustrative example, please note that “Liberal” ideologies vary and this is not meant to be a demonstration of Liberalism, but rather an example of how this chart might look if a Liberal party filled it out.

47


A BLUEPRINT


LIBERAL Personal responsibility

Increase incentives for banks to lend to small businesses

Individual freedom

Decrease media censorship for greater freedom of speech

Tolerance

Promote construction of place of worship for nondominant religions

Please fill out the chart below, thinking through the main three policies on which your party campaigned. Then think about which values those policies feed into that are important to your party. Finally, think about which ideologies those values best represent.16 POLICY 3

POLICY 2

VALUE 3

VALUE 2

POLICY 1

VALUE 1

IDEOLOGY

16. For more information on political party ideologies, please see NDI’s publication, Manual on Political Party Identity and Ideology

48


A BLUEPRINT


Critical Questions: 1. Do your party’s policies align with your party’s ideology, why or why not? Is this important to your party and/or to your supporters? 2. How do your party’s policies align with those of party supporters? How do you know this? 3. If your party’s policies do not align with the people’s priorities, does the problem come from your party’s values or ideology, or from its selection of policies? 4. What steps can your party take to re-align its policies, values, and ideologies with those of its supporters? 5. Arriving at a coherent relationship between ideology, policy, communications strategies and winning elections is a complicated journey. What more can your party, or international organizations, do to become more competent in these areas? (e.g. trainings on political ideology? How to make policy? internal democracy?)

49


A BLUEPRINT


Critical Questions: Ideology in the 21st Century These questions are to help parties think about how ideology connects with their values and with their policies. This can help parties think about how their ideology affects citizens on a day-to-day basis. 1. What are your party’s foundational values? 2.

Are these values still relevant today, why or why not?

3. How do the policies that your party proposes represent your party’s values and ideology? 4. How well does your party communicate practical examples of how its values or ideological beliefs help citizens in their day-to-day life? 5. Do you think it is important for the party to communicate practical examples of how it aims to help citizens, while tying the reasoning to the party’s values and ideology, why or why not?

50


A BLUEPRINT


6. How important do you think your party’s ideology is to voters? How important do you think ideology in general is to voters? 7. What does the answer for question #6 mean for your party and does it change the way you think your party should communicate with voters? 8. Do you think your party could do a better job communicating its values and actions to voters? 9.

If you replied “yes” to question #8, what do you think your party could do to improve?

51


A BLUEPRINT


Critical Questions: Inclusion and Party Finance

These questions are to help parties think about who within their party benefits from political party financing and how financing could be more inclusive. Women are half the population, not a minority group, but tend to be severely underrepresented in political parties. Other social or identity groups that often face marginalization include youth, ethnic or religious minorities, people with disabilities, and LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex) communities. 1. How is your party financed and who within the party benefits from the money? 2. What body ultimately makes the decision with regard to allocations of funds within the party? 3. Are there any social or identity groups who traditionally have not benefitted from party funding, whether as candidates or within the party leadership? If so, who? Why do you think this is? 4. Does your party have networks or wings for women, youth or other groups? If so, how are they funded? _____________________________________________________________________________________________

52


A BLUEPRINT


5. How could the party change its funding mechanisms to ensure that these groups are better included? 6. How do women, youth or minority candidates fundraise to run as candidates for your party? What financial and organizational support does your party offer to them? Does this differ from support offered to other candidates? 7. Are party accounts public to all party members? 8. Are the political party’s accounts being audited? If so, by whom? 9. How can party members get involved in the party’s finances/get elected to this committee?

53


A BLUEPRINT


Critical Questions: Party Membership

These questions are to help parties think about what membership means to their party, to supporters and to citizens at large. 1. What – if any – is the difference between a party member and a party supporter? 2. What benefits do party members have over party supporters, what is the incentive to join? 3. Do citizens generally see value in party membership, why or why not? 4. How could your party better incentivize supporters to join, why should you or shouldn’t you do this? 5. How does the party utilize its members and supporters (i.e. grassroots advocacy, volunteering, etc.)? Does your party feel members and supporters feel satisfied with these roles?

54


A BLUEPRINT


6. How could your party better utilize its members and supporters? 7. Do party members and supporters have a clear understanding of the party’s messaging and platform, why or why not? 8. How do members communicate to party leadership and how does the leadership respond? 9. How could the party do a better job of communicating with its members and supporters?

55


A BLUEPRINT


Flow of Money into Parties Where should party money come from? Circle the methods of funding that you think should apply to your party

How does money flow into your party? Circle the methods of funding that apply to your party

Party patrons

Party patrons

Individual party members or candidates

Individual party members or candidates

An individual’s fundraising efforts

An individual’s fundraising efforts

General party fundraising

General party fundraising

Membership fees

Membership fees

Public financing or state funding

Public financing or state funding

Unions/labor

Unions/labor

Businesses or business leaders

Businesses or business leaders

Illicit sources

Illicit sources

Advocacy organizations

Advocacy organizations

International sister parties

International sister parties

International Party Foundations

International Party Foundations

Other: ___________________________

Other: ___________________________

Other: ___________________________

Other: ___________________________

56


A BLUEPRINT


Questions to consider 1. Do you think citizens view the way your party is financed as a good or bad model, why? 2. In what ways do you think your party can improve the way it is financed, how could this be achieved? 3. What is the first point of arrival for money into the party? Who holds this department/ person responsible?

57


A BLUEPRINT


Supply versus Demand of Citizen Input The two lists below describe methods through which parties can solicit input from citizens, and ways citizens can provide input on their own. Circle each method your party uses to share information, as well as each method of citizen-provided input to which your party responds. These lists are not meant to be exhaustive, so please add in additional methods where appropriate. Methods parties can share information

Methods citizens can provide input

Mass mailings

Join parties to attend party meetings & conventions

Targeted mailings

Mass-based letter campaigns

One-off emails

Individual letter campaigns

Subscription-based, periodic emails

One-off emails to elected representatives

Newsletters

Comment on party social media platforms

Traditional advertising (if legal), such as newspapers or television advertisements

Sign petitions

Door-to-door canvassing

Aggregate concerns, either through civil society organizations, community organizing, or otherwise, and advocate for them to the party

Host public fora or party townhall meetings, electronically or otherwise SMS and SMS group messaging (i.e. Whatsapp)

Attend public fora or party townhall meeting

Publish collaborative online documents (e.g. Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides)

Attend legislative office hours

Write editorials in newspapers

Participate in collaborative online documents or discussions

Membership drives

Calling the offices of representatives

Offer tiered memberships with ranges of privileges

Providing opinion in public opinion research

Host legislative office hours

Reply to social media postings (i.e. on Twitter or on an elected representative’s Facebook page)

58


A BLUEPRINT


Methods parties can share information

Methods citizens can provide input

Going on news television and radio shows

Public demonstrations such as protests or marches

Member only town hall meetings

Go to the offices of your representative or of the political party and speak to someone in person

Private or public social media pages and groups

Call into a radio show

General social media outreach (Twitter, Facebook pages, LinkedIn, etc.)

Write editorials in newspapers

Targeted community outreach (to communities of color, ethnic groups, LGBTI communities, youth, colleges, embassies, churches, etc.)

Attend member only town halls

Non-traditional advertising, such as paid digital advertising

Critical Questions: 1. Which uncircled methods above would be most helpful for your party’s outreach strategy, and how would they be implemented? 2. Of the methods circled, does your party seem to target particular groups of people (e.g. those who can get online, smartphone users, urban supporters, rural supporters)?

59


A BLUEPRINT


3. Of the methods circled, does your party seem to target particular demographics of people (e.g. mostly men, mostly women, older or younger populations)? 4. Of the methods circled, which would bolster your party’s ability to organize with marginalized populations, how would it do this? 5. Based on the methods circled, does your party provide opportunities for two-way dialogues with citizens, or are the avenues of communication less collaborative?

60


A BLUEPRINT


Ideology: Where does your party lie? Some political parties have traditionally presented their ideologies along a left-to-right spectrum. Often, this ideological spectrum places parties favoring greater involvement of the state in economic affairs on the left, and parties favoring less involvement in economic affairs on the right. In the twenty first century, however, many parties may find their ideological values placed on a separate spectrum, separate from economic concerns. One end of this spectrum (GAL) can be understood to represent new-age values, multiculturalism and/or liberalism. The opposite end (TAN) can be understood to represent traditional social values, illiberal ways of politics, and/or national pride. In the fictional country of “Brambawe,” there are nine major parties. For each party, some priorities and values are listed below, and then each is mapped on a GAL/TAN spectrum, based off of those values. 1. Brambawe First Party: Strong executive with limited checks or balances, strong national identity, minimal input from citizens, strong military presence in government. 2. Brambawe Green Party: Ecological preservation, animal rights, and expansion of alternative energy industries. 3. Brambawe People’s Party: Small business development, individual rights, individual responsibility, and maintenance of the death penalty. 4. Brambawe Libertarian Party: Small business development, privatization of the welfare state, individual rights, legalization of recreational drugs, and abolition of the death penalty. 5. Communist Party of Brambawe: Total nationalization of industry, collectivization of agriculture, decrease private spaces, and establishment of a unified, classless society. 6. Conservative Party of Brambawe: Establishment of an official religion and official language, individual liberties, and privatization of welfare state. 7. Liberal Party of Brambawe: Small business development, individual rights, a welfare system run through public and private partnerships, and political moderation. 8. Social Democratic Party of Brambawe: Strengthen worker rights, expansion of the welfare state, and abolition of the death penalty. 9. Socialist Party of Brambawe: Nationalization of energy and transportation industries, universal basic income, and limits on immigration.

61


A BLUEPRINT


GAL Social Democratic Party of Brambawe

Liberal Party of Brambawe

Brambawe Green Party

Brambawe Libertarian Party

Brambawe People’s Party

Socialist Party of Brambawe

LEFT

RIGHT Conservative Party of Brambawe

Communist Party of Brambawe

Brambawe First Party

TAN In combination with the usual left-to-right spectrum for understanding political ideology, the GAL/TAN spectrum can help parties orient their values according to modern and multidimensional citizen expectations. Where does your party fall? Using the diagram below, map where your and other countries in your party? Are there cross-axis alliances you could build with any similarly positioned parties. GAL

LEFT

RIGHT

TAN

62


A BLUEPRINT


What Does Money Mean to your Party? Where does the money come from in your party and because of that, who does party leadership respond to?

One example of using money as an incentive to ensure the party responds to its members and supporters.

LICIES PO

Party Leaders and Decisionmakers

MO

Party Members and Supporters

NEY

1. Is there a better way your party could be funded? If so what is it (please explain below and fill in the diagram with better solutions).

63


A BLUEPRINT


2. Would you say that members who donate to your party expect something in return? If so, what is it and does that benefit party supporters as at large or only the donor and his/her interests? 3. Who has more influence over party decision-making, party supporters, party members or party donors, and why?

64


A BLUEPRINT


4. If your party does not receive money from members, how does that affect the types of policies it proposes? Do they still address the needs and priorities of party members, why or why not? 5. If you replied yes to the previous question, how do you know this to be true? How do you collect input from members about their policy priorities?

65